Learn

We can remove elements in a list using the .remove() Python method.

Suppose we have a filled list called shopping_line that represents a line at a grocery store:

shopping_line = ["Cole", "Kip", "Chris", "Sylvana"]

We could remove "Chris" by using the .remove() method:

shopping_line.remove("Chris")

print(shopping_line)

If we examine shopping_line, we can see that it now doesn’t contain "Chris":

["Cole", "Kip", "Sylvana"]

We can also use .remove() on a list that has duplicate elements.

Only the first instance of the matching element is removed:

# Create a list
shopping_line = ["Cole", "Kip", "Chris", "Sylvana", "Chris"]

# Remove a element
shopping_line.remove("Chris")
print(shopping_line)

Will output:

["Cole", "Kip", "Sylvana", "Chris"]

Let’s practice using the .remove() method to remove elements from a list.

Instructions

We have decided to get into the grocery store business. Our manager Calla has decided to store all the inventory purchases in a list to help track what products need to be ordered.

Let’s create a list called order_list with the following values (in this particular order):

"Celery", "Orange Juice", "Orange", "Flatbread"

Print order_list to see the current list.

We are in luck! We actually found a spare case of "Flatbread" in our back storage. We won’t need to order it anymore. Let’s remove it from order_list using the .remove() method.

Print order_list to see the current list.

Our store has grown to be a huge success! We decided to open a second store and require a new order list. Calla has done us the favor of putting one together.

Create a new list called new_store_order_list and assign it the following values (in order):

"Orange", "Apple", "Mango", "Broccoli", "Mango"

Note: Our second store is going to need two orders of mangos so the value is duplicated.

Print new_store_order_list to see the current list.

We are in luck again! We actually found a spare case of "Mango" in our back storage.

We won’t be needing to place two orders anymore.

Let’s remove it from new_store_order_list using the .remove() method.

Print new_store_order_list to see the current list.

Calla ran to tell us some important news! She asked us to remove "Onions" from our new new_store_order_list. If we double-check our list, we will notice we don’t have "Onions" on our list.

Let’s see what happens when we try to remove an item that does not exist.

Call the .remove() method with the value of "Onions" on our new_store_order_list list.

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